A person-centered feasibility study of integrative group medical visits for people with chronic pain

Millions of Americans experience chronic pain. Integrative Group Medical Visits (IGMVs) often improve access to pain care and patient outcomes. This study assessed the feasibility of novel collection methods for intra-visit clinical information and the PROMIS-29 at three time-points throughout an 8-week pain-focused IGMV series called Easing Pain Holistically (EPH). Outcomes focused on clinically meaningful improvements in participants' pain and pain-related symptoms.

Three variations of EPH were piloted with six cohorts within Minnesota's largest safety-net hospital system. Participants completed the PROMIS-29 at baseline, week 4, and week 8. Weekly progress sheets were administered to gather participants' intra-visit clinical changes. The percentage of participants demonstrating clinically meaningful differences on each PROMIS-29 subscale was calculated.

Weekly progress sheet and PROMIS-29 collection was feasible. Positive shifts in intra-visit themes from the beginning to the end of each visit were observed. Seven PROMIS-29 mean domain scores improved at week 8, with ∼50% of participants reporting clinically meaningful improvements for Fatigue, Anxiety and Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities.

Collection of outcomes was feasible and provided a novel viewpoint to assess intra-visit and longitudinal clinical changes. Improvements in function and positive qualitative themes were observed. Future studies could explore the validation of intra-visit patient-reported outcomes, such as the weekly progress sheets, in IGMVs for chronic pain care.